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On March 31, EU ministers met to discuss the global shortage of around 11million barrels of oil per day. At the meeting, European Commissioner Dan Jørgensen urged nations to outline measures to reduce the use of oil and gas, particularly in transportation. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused panic within Europe. As a result, the EU has been advised to consider biofuels as an alternative to fossil fuels.
Unlike America, Europe is struggling to find sources of oil that are either not in Russia nor the Middle East. As a result the European Union has been advised to look again at Biofuels.
This article reviews how China is helping Cuba shift its dependence from oil to renewable energy, by a series of massive solar parks (92 in total) with a combined output of 2,000 MW (or roughly Cuba’s entire current thermal generation from burning fossil fuels.
China has also committed to installing 10,000 photovoltaic systems for isolated homes and critical facilities. China is also investing in Cuba’s wind farms.
In Tokyo, at the first Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial and Business Forum, Nth Cycle (a critical metals refining company) signed a massive US$1.1 billion, 10 year, agreement to provide recycled battery metals.
Refining battery metals in the US and Europe has been difficult to scale up because the more traditional refineries often require billions of dollars in upfront investment, take a long time to get all the necessary permits and require huge amounts of material in order to be profitable.
The US-Israeli attack on Iran, and Iran’s retaliation has caused a massive rise in the costs of petrol and diesel. In the UK, petrol is up around 30% and diesel is up around 50%. In the USA, average gas prices were up by 33% in early April
There seems to be a never ending cycle of oil-related problems. In 2008, supply, demand and speculation caused a massive price hike. In 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine causing another oil price hike. And now, the US-Israeli attack on Iran has driven yet another price hike. The fundamental problem is that transportation remains totally dependent on oil, and oil prices are set by a very volatile global market.
Global medium and heavy truck production is expected to increase in most important regions this year, but China’s MH truck segment probably will see a major structural change. Overall production in South America is expected to be flat, although Argentina is likely to post a gain of almost 10%.
North America. Medium and heavy truck production in North America is expected to increase by 9.4% this year compared with low 2025 production. While class 8 truck production is expected to increase by 11.3% this year as order rates for class 8 trucks improved strongly from December – March.
In the April 2026 issue of PowerTALK News you can read articles about reports from CONEXPO 2026, Alternative Power News, and DataPoint, plus reports on Iran and Tariffs, BYD Developments, and more.
ALTERNATIVE POWER REPORT
A “Failed Experiment”? Biofuels Under Spotlight
US Battery Recycler Lands $1.1B Metals Refining Deal
When Fossil Fuel Supplies Falter, Interest In Renewables Increases
Oil Crisis Makes Drivers Reconsider Electric
DATAPOINT: 2026 Aerator Production GLOBAL REPORT: 2026 Global MHCV Production Gains Seen EUROPE REPORT:
Volvo Moves into Big Electric Equipment
KTM Completes Strategic Realignment and Leap into Premium EVs
SOUTH AMERICA/BRAZIL REPORT:
Import Tax Decision on Buses Is Reversed
Indian Preet Enters Brazil With Tractor Manufacturing Plant
Selic Interest Rate Cut Has Limited Impact in Auto Market
VWCO Tests B100 Soybean Biodiesel in Engines
GAC Plans Vehicle Production in Brazil
JAPAN REPORT: Yanmar To Build Plant for Marine Hydrogen Engines SOUTH KOREA REPORT: HD Construction Sets Electric Safety Training System PHILIPINES REPORT: Power Shortages Boost Reliance on Generators CHINA REPORT: Zhangxue Demonstrates Strength of “Made in China” INDIA REPORT: Ashok Leyland Takes Major Step Toward EV Leadership
The April 2026 issue of the Alternative Power Report produced by Power Systems Research and authored by Guy Youngs, features articles on problems with biofuels in Europe and how drivers consider EVs again. Read these articles and more in the April 2026 issue of Alternative Power Report today. PSR
Guy Youngs is Forecast and Technology Adoption Lead at Power Systems Research
6,200 units is the estimate by Power Systems Research of the number of Aerators expected to be produced in North America during 2026.
Aerators are machines that have tines for soil penetration. The process involves perforating the soil with small holes to allow air, water and nutrients to penetrate the grass roots.
Study shows PHEVs exceed government estimates. There have been several studies that suggest that hybrid electric vehicles (also called PHEVs) are simply not the great environment saver that the marketing people are suggesting. A new study by the Fraunhofer Institute shows that on average, PHEVs use more than three times as much fuel as government estimates suggest.
The study is highly credible as it was based around on-board fuel consumption monitoring data from a massive 981,035 vehicles across Europe.
A gap of over 300% is severe and makes it hard for the EU to regulate something when the estimated numbers are so wildly different from reality. The EU is aware of this problem, and is taking some measures to fix it
Recently in Australia, Protrans Solutions conducted a successful trial with a battery-electric refrigerated trailer charged by onboard solar panels on the 1,100 miles Sydney-Brisbane round trip without using diesel to refrigerate the trailer unit. This demonstrates a depot-to-depot cold-chain capability.
But that’s easy, I hear you say, its Australia and its sunny. Well, how about cold and snowy Canada? Transport Canada’s Zero-Emission Trucking Program, recently published a study which monitored over than 200 thousand kms (124,224 miles) of diesel and electric truck data over a year of operations in the Montreal-area. There findings were staggering with nearly $200k of savings per electric truck
